3D Metal printing otherwise called as Additive Manufacturing is an emerging technology that is forecasted to revolutionise the factories of the future. The novelty of 3D printing lies in the way in which components are designed and manufactured by industry. It is a new manufacturing process that allows computer generated 3D models to be transformed into a physical object through successive layer build of metal powders and fused together at high temperatures using high power laser. The potential advantages of this technology include cost savings arising from removing multiple process steps, reduced materials handling and number of components in an assembly, enabling rapid prototyping of components, etc.
Here in this project, it is aimed to produce a dental crown using 3D metal printing technology and compare its characteristics to a pre-formed commercially available dental crown. The commercially available pre-formed crown will first be CT- scanned and the computer data obtained will be used to 3D print the dental crown of exact dimension using metal powder of similar material as that of pre-formed crown (say stainless steel material). Both 3D printed and commercially procured pre-formed stainless steel crowns will then be characterized in terms of mechanical properties (compressive strength, ductility, etc.), abrasion resistance, thermal conductivity and chemical stability. The results obtained in each of these tests will be analysed , compared and be reported.
